Chef Vikas Khanna is set to open new restaurant Bungalow in New York in March

Celebrity Chef and MasterChef India judge Vikas Khanna.

Born in Amritsar, Chef Vikas Khanna grew up among Punjab’s famed farmlands and had his first introduction to cooking when he watched his grandmother cook in her kitchen. As a child, Khanna had a leg deformity which prevented him from running and playing like other children, and the kitchen became his refuge.

A decision that has augured well for the now New York-based chef who is on a mission to be a brand ambassador for Indian food. He followed up his passion for food with a degree in hospitality management from the Welcomgroup Graduate School of Hotel Administration in Manipal, Karnataka. Having worked at major hospitality chains like the Taj Hotels, Oberoi group, Welcome group, and Leela Group of Hotel, he moved to New York and did several odd jobs, starting as a help washing dishes in a restaurant to finally opening Junoon that earned him his Michelin star. Proverbially, his journey has seen no looking back. From making appearances in shows like Gordon Ramsay’s Hell’s Kitchen, Twist of Taste, Throwdown with Bobby Flay, The Martha Stewart Show and MasterChef India to cooking at The White House, Khanna has done it all.

Authoring over 38 cook books, including Ayurveda - The Science of Food and Life, Mango Mia, The Spice Story of India, Cuisine of Gandhi, and New York Chefs Cooking for Life - Cookbook, he also launched the first phygital (physical and digital) cookbook in the world - Sacred Foods of India. The sandalwood version of the book, which has just two copies has sold for a whopping $50,000 (close to Rs 42 lakh).

Taking his love for food forward, he will open his newest venture, Bungalow, on March 23. It is Chef Vikas Khanna's ode to his sister Radhika Khanna who would have turned 50 on that day (she lost her life to an autoimmune condition lupus). “This restaurant celebrates her life and legacy. It also celebrates millions of home kitchens of India, street vendors, cook book authors, food custodians of India and our mothers who have nurtured our souls,” said Khanna on his Instagram handle. Easily among the flagbearers of Indian cuisine abroad, Khanna has many aces up his sleeve.

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Conceptualised by Chef Khanna and Bombay House Hospitality, Bungalow New York will go beyond offering delicious food. It will honour Indian home cooks, mothers and nurturers, street vendors who preserve generations-old recipes, and cookbook authors who are the preservers of the country's rich culinary heritage. The restaurant's ambience will likely reflect a traditional Indian bungalow's charms in the heart of New York City.